Love's adds office building to HQ

Love's Travel Stops employees participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company's new office building at its Oklahoma City headquarters complex.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 17, 2013) — Love's Travel Stops and Country stores held a grand opening Oct. 16 of a new office building addition to its corporate headquarters.

The truck stop chain said the new building in Oklahoma City signifies the positive economic impact it has had on the local economy for nearly 50 years. Privately-held Love's operates more than 300 stores nationwide and has some 10,000 employees—more than 650 of them based in Oklahoma City.

"On the eve of our 50th anniversary, the new building is the declaration of a bright future for Love's." said Tom Love, company founder and CEO. "Throughout tough economic times, we're proud to say we've flourished. Every day, I'm humbled by our success.

"Our company has expanded at such a rapid pace that we've outgrown our current offices. In order to support our growth at the store level, we need to continue to expand at the corporate level. The ability to keep bringing on hard-working and dedicated employees will be a big part of our continued success."

On average, Love's said it opens 20 new stores per year and, in recent years, has been in a constant state of growth and has added multiple corporate positions. The new building will make it possible for the company to add significantly more stable, full-time positions to keep up with the demand, it said.

Officials with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce say having a company with the size, stability and continued growth potential of Love's is a major contributing factor to the thriving metro.

Roy. H Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, said the addition to the Love's headquarters "is testament to the strength, leadership and corporate responsibility of Love's Travel Stops. The Oklahoma City community has watched Love's grow from a single store in 1964, to more than 300 locations and nearly 10,000 employees across the nation. We are proud that Oklahoma City can share in the success story of Love's and we congratulate them on this new chapter in their company's history."

Located within the City of The Village, Love's has a long-standing relationship with the community, according to the company, which said it is showing its appreciation for the "steadfast support" it receives by presenting The Village Police Department and The Village Fire Department each with $5,000 checks.

"We give a donation of $2,000 to a local non-profit at the opening of each new store," Mr. Love said. "We're treating the dedication of our new building like a new store opening, but with a twist. We're thankful for the generosity that The Village has demonstrated for letting us be a part of their community, a relationship we hope will only strengthen."

The new three-story, 67,500-sq.-ft. building will accommodate 400 employees. Crews broke ground for it in August. The last expansion to Love's corporate office was in 2006.

In addition to its 300 locations, Love's also operates 175 Love's Truck Tire Care centers in 40 states. The company said it plans to open 25 new travel stops in 2013.

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